


A Study in Setters

by Lalikaa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Companionable Snark, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 22:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13133439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalikaa/pseuds/Lalikaa
Summary: “Honestly, Suga-chan, where’s your sense of adventure? Have you lost it in your old age?”“Yes, I’ve lost my sense of adventure along with my youthful reckless abandon at the ripe old age of 22, hate to break it to you.”“You really are no fun,” Tooru pouted.





	A Study in Setters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [datgayrainboww](https://archiveofourown.org/users/datgayrainboww/gifts).



> Ayyyy, Happy Holidays, Lynn! I know “fake-dating au” wasn’t one of your prompts, but when I saw “project partners”, I immediately thought of college au, and then [this](http://lesbianrey.tumblr.com/post/139998890690/looks-like-the-perfect-opportunity-for-the-fake) prompt emerged and I just had to write this! 
> 
> Also! This fic is from both Suga and Oikawa’s perspective! How you know who’s perspective it’s from is based on the first names used in the narrative. For example, if it says, “Tooru thought…”, then it’s from Oikawa’s perspective! Hopefully it’ll be easy to follow! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the first chapter! This will likely have 3-5 chapters total, which I will update within the next couple of months or so! :)

 “Oikawa, _really_?”

“Suga, pleeeeaase? It’ll be so easy!”

“It sounds like a terrible idea.”

Suga was currently lounging on the futon in his dorm reading a novel. Tooru had just burst in (without knocking because why would he ever), triumphantly holding up a small flyer. It was Suga’s fault for not locking his door, anyway.

“Honestly, Suga-chan, where’s your sense of adventure? Have you lost it in your old age?”

“Yes, I’ve lost my sense of adventure along with my youthful reckless abandon at the ripe old age of 22, hate to break it to you.”

“You really are no fun,” Tooru pouted.

“Alright, fine, let’s do it. But only because I’m amazing,” Suga smirked as he closed his book to look up at Tooru. 

Tooru rolled his eyes. He flopped down on the futon next to him and handed him the flyer. 

Suga sat up and took the flyer from his hands, and read aloud: 

“Paid Research Opportunity: Romantic Couples Study. Must be in a committed relationship for at least 6 months. Must be living together. Must be over 18 years old. Takes place at the Psychology Graduate building, starts May 1st.” 

“See, just like I told you! I talked to my professor who’s heading the study and she said it could last up to a year! And she told me that it’s ¥5,000 for each month participating! That’s ¥60,000 for the year, Suga! ¥30,000 each!”

Suga sniffed. “I didn’t realize you were so immoral that you would lie for money. _Honestly._ “

“You _just_ said you’d do it, cut the bullshit,” Oikawa huffed. “Besides, it’s _so_ perfect. We live in the same dorm complex, so close enough, we sure as hell have known each other over 6 months, we’re in our last year of university, so good on age…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Suga said. “So, what do we have to do?”

“Well, I talked to the professor who’s in charge of the study, and she said all we have to do is follow a specific program, go to monthly meetings, and fill out some questionnaires! Easy!”

“Pluuuuus, I already mentioned we were dating to her, so you basically have to do it anyway,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

“Oikawa, you are unbelievable.”

Tooru flashed him a dazzling smile. Now it was Suga’s turn to roll his eyes.

“So we’re really doing this, huh?” Suga asked.

Despite it being a rhetorical question, Oikawa cheerfully replied; “Yep!”

\-----

A week later, Koushi found himself in a cramped office, filling out a contact information form, as well a preliminary study form. Yamazaki-sensei had stepped out briefly to get coffee, so he and Oikawa were able to speak freely. They had both filled out their contact information forms easily enough, but the study forms, which asked questions about their relationship, were proving to be a bit more challenging.

“Things we like to do together?” Koushi whispered to Oikawa, who was sitting in the chair next to him. “What’s like, romantic stuff we could put here?”

“I put ‘cooking together’ and ‘going on dates’,” Oikawa responded.

“Creative.”

“Shut up, it’s not like you have anything.”

Suga hummed thoughtfully. “We should put something mushy down, like cuddling.”

“Ok, yeah that works… Wait, Suga what are you doing? You have to put my first name, we’re dating!”

Koushi looked down at where he had written, _‘Oikawa and I love cuddling together’_. Whoops. He erased it to rewrite ‘Tooru’, but he could still see the smudge.

“That’s so basic, though,” Oikawa said.

“And ‘going on dates’ isn’t? What kind of dates, even? Walking on the beach?” Koushi retorted.

Oikawa immediately covered up his form, but Koushi batted his hand away, and sure enough, ‘ _romantic walks’_ was written next to ‘ _going on dates_ ’.

Koushi let out an admittedly unattractive snort, and Oikawa attempted to shove him off his chair in response. “Shut _up_.”

“Is everything alright?”

They both turned to see Yamazaki-sensei standing behind them, holding a steaming mug of coffee.

“Of course!” Oikawa said, smiling brightly. “Just, you know, playful banter.”

“I see. Well, do you need any assistance in filling the forms out?” She asked as she walked around to her desk and sat down.

“Oikawa probably needs help,” Suga put in. “A _lot_ of help. In general.”

“How long have you two been dating again…?” She asked.

“Eight months,” Oikawa said quickly. “It’s just, we’re both on the volleyball team, so last names is what we’re used to, right, _Koushi-kun_? And he’s just _such_ a card.” The smile Oikawa gave him was one of the fakest Koushi had ever seen, but if Oikawa was gonna play it up, then so would he.

“Oh, right, my cutie-pie and I have been dating since the end of last summer,” he said sweetly.

“How lovely,” Yamazaki-sensei said, though she still had a lilt of questioning in her tone.

Oikawa swooped in with a hand squeeze. “Yes, but it feels like it’s been eight years; I couldn’t imagine a life without my lovey dove.”

“Well, it sounds like you two are in a very, ah, committed relationship.”

“We are,” Oikawa confirmed.

Koushi gave him what he hoped was a loving gaze, and turned back to the form.

“‘Have you met the others’ family yet?’” He murmured to Oikawa.

Oikawa showed him his form, where he had written, ‘ _Not yet, but I hope to soon! ^_^_ ’

Koushi nodded and added something similar. The rest of the questions were a rated 1-5 scale at how happy he was in their relationship, how well he felt he knew his partner, etc. He glanced over at Oikawa’s and saw him diligently circling all 5’s. Koushi decided to shake it up and circle a few 4’s and even a 3 next to “How willing would you be to marry your partner?”

After he finished circling a few more 5’s, they both handed in their forms, and were given waiver forms, as well as a hefty looking packet in return. After Koushi signed his name about 17 times, Yamazaki-sensei began to explain the study.

“The goal of the study is to determine what factors contribute to a happy and healthy relationship, as well as overall satisfaction in long-term relationships.”

Koushi nodded. Sounded like a good study. Too bad he and Oikawa’s contribution to it would be a sham.

“All you need to do is follow the monthly program packet. It lists activities, suggestions for communication, and the like. You’ll check off what activities you completed and what suggestions you may have followed. Then, on the scheduled time and date, you’ll meet with me again to fill out an additional questionnaire. You may drop out of the study any time, but keep in mind you will not receive compensation,” Yamazaki sensei continued.

“I’m looking forward to the diversity your relationship will bring as well,” she added.

Oh, right. He and Oikawa would probably be the only gay couple in the study. Koushi suddenly felt a really guilty sensation pooling in his stomach. Here they were, representing diversity in sexuality, and their relationship wasn’t even real.

Yamazaki-sensei folded her hands on her desk and smiled pleasantly at them. “Now, do you have any questions?”

“Is there any negative consequences for not completing all the activities?” Oikawa asked.

“Certainly not,” she responded. “We only ask that you be honest in your questionnaires.”

“Of course!” Oikawa said. “We’re looking forward to it!”

Koushi felt Oikawa reach for his hand and squeeze it again, holding it up likely for Yamazaki-sensei’s benefit.

Koushi felt the guilty feeling burst up into his chest, but smiled anyway as he tried to push it back down.

_Goddammit._

\-----

A few days later, Tooru was back in Suga’s dorm. He was laying on the futon while Suga was chilling on his bed on his stomach browsing twitter. Tooru was currently flipping through the program packet.

“So this is actually happening?” Suga asked. Tooru had once again let himself in, fully intent on discussing their new relationship, though for some reason, Suga wasn’t seeming as receptive to the idea now.

“We’ve already committed!” Tooru exclaimed. Honestly, couldn’t Suga understand how great of an opportunity this was?

“Besides, following this program or whatever might even be fun! Look here, our first activity is ‘going to a place we’ve never been before!’ So easy! There’s this cafe that Bokuto recommended that I’ve been wanting to go to, so we can just do that!”

“You’re really going all in on this, aren’t you?”

“Suuuuuga, you _said_ you were okay with this, why are you being all flaky now?”

Suga bit his lip. “Yamazaki-sensei seems so nice, I feel kind of bad lying to her.”

Ah, so that was it.

Well. Suga clearly just needed to do a better job of repressing his feelings.

“Don’t think of it as lying! Think of it as… creatively stretching the truth.”

“Oikawa, please.”

“Ok, ok, so we’re terrible people,” Tooru gave in. “But the important thing is that we’re terrible _together_.”

“Ew, don’t drag me down on your level,” Suga deadpanned.

“What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean? I’m amazing! You’re lucky I considered you as my partner for this side project! I would’ve of course chosen Iwa-chan if he went here with us, but it’s alright to _settle_ every once in a while, right?” Tooru smirked.

Suga’s mouth twitched. Good. Tooru was going to get him to come around within the next three minutes or so help him.

“So this is a ‘side project’? That’s what we’re calling it now?” Suga inquired skeptically.

“So you admit we’re in this together! You can’t even deny this is a great idea! Plus, the best part is that you get to spend more time with your best pal, Oikawa-san!”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Suga, you poor uninformed dear, it’s practically everyone’s dream to spend time with the beloved me! Let alone date me!” Tooru argued, making possibly the most solid point in their conversation thus far.

“You know, I was actually wondering about that. Why didn’t you just get one of your fangirls to ‘date’ you? You still have fangirls, right?”

Tooru let out a petulant huff. Of _course_ he still had fangirls.

“ _Because_ ,” Tooru sighed dramatically. “If I dated one of them, they might fall in love with me for real! And I’m too busy with my volleyball career to deal with that sort of thing. With you, I don’t have to worry about that.”

“Pffft,” Suga rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright, I suppose I can get that. But one more thing; why do you need the money so bad? You got in on a sports scholarship, and you have a paid internship now, yeah?”

Shit. Tooru had been hoping he wouldn’t ask that. He was relying on Suga being impressed with the prospect of ¥5,000 a month. Which ok, in retrospect ¥2,500 each wasn’t a whole lot, but it was enough for at _least_ four convenience store runs. And Suga _loved_ the bento boxes at the one on the corner next to the Theatre building.

“Anyway!” Tooru clapped his hands. “When would you be free to go on our date?”

Suga looked at him with questioning eyes, but obviously decided not to press it because he responded; “I have a class in about 45 minutes, but it’ll be over by 5:30. We could go after then.”

Tooru pouted. “I have class ‘til 6:30, and I have a quiz tomorrow for my behavioral science class. The professor is the _worst_ , so I actually need to study.”

“Nerd.”

“Loser,” Tooru retorted.

“Dork.”

“Jerk.”

“Jackass.”

“Oh, so crass, Suga-chan! You’re wounded my poor, innocent heart”

“Nothing about you is innocent, asshole.”

Tooru settled for sticking his tongue out.

“Very mature.”

Just then, Tooru’s phone started buzzing. Checking the caller ID, he saw it was Kuroo.

“Heeellllooo~!” Tooru greeted. He could see Suga rolling his eyes.

“We’re still good for practice tonight, right?” Kuroo asked.

Wait, how the hell did Tooru forget about _volleyball practice_ of all things?! Then again, his sleep schedule had been seriously fucked lately (when was it not, though), and he’d had a lot on his mind. It _might_ be forgivable to forget about extra practice just once.

What Tooru ended up saying was; “Obviously! Is Bokuto coming?”

“He’s only been talking about it for the past hour. It’s been a while since our last personal practice, and he’s excited because he’s convinced Akaashi to come, too.”

“Wait, why wouldn’t Akaashi-kun want to come?”

“He’s got some huge essay due tomorrow. Literature majors. The worst.”

“Oikawa-kun, don’t you have a quiz tomorrow?” Suga said, still scrolling through his phone.

Oh, right.

Well, sleep wasn’t necessary, so it’d be fine.

Instead he said; “Suga-chan, you should join us! The last time you played with us was what, before Spring break? So long ago!”

“Like three months ago,” Suga replied.

“Right. So like, forever ago!”

“Fine, fine!”

Oikawa gave him a genuine smile. They would all have a great time!

\-----

_This would not be a great time,_ was Koushi’s immediate initial thought. For one, because of this practice, Koushi would be missing his daily study routine, which was at precisely 8:00 every night. Secondly, he was tired and still feeling a little guilty.

On the bright side, this might be a good distraction for him. Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi were always fun to hang out with, too.

Koushi’s general outlook on life was to roll with the punches, and part of that meant acting happy or encouraging or brave even when that’s the opposite of how you feel.

So Koushi would go to this practice, he would help Oikawa with this research study, and he would do his best to make it enjoyable.

But for now, he had class, so the only sensible option for him was to make Oikawa run to the nearest convenience store to get him an iced coffee (to Oikawa’s credit, he also threw in a croissant) and he was on his way to Business Management 405.

A few hours later, after picking up his favorite bento, Koushi was back in his dorm room, working on completing homework for his Statistic class. He glanced at the clock on his organized chaos of a desk, which read 6:30. Oikawa’s class would be ending. Koushi changed into shorts and a T-shirt, filled up his water bottle in his bathroom sink, and threw his kneepads in a small drawstring backpack. The indoor sports gym (they had three gyms on campus, one of the positives of going to a sports-heavy university) was less than a 10 minute walk from their dorms, and it was only just 6:40, but Koushi liked being early.

He arrived just before 6:50, and of course Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi were already there. Bokuto had been a starter their freshman year; not a surprise for someone who had been in the Top 5 in high school with a goal to play for the National team. Kuroo had been second-string in freshman year, and made starter their second year. Oikawa, meanwhile, hadn’t been made starter until just last Spring, the start of their junior year. Koushi thought part of this was due to Oikawa re-injuring his knee their freshman year, trying desperately to be on-par with everyone else, despite the fact that he was incredible already. Akaashi was currently the second-string setter, and often played in games.

Koushi, by some miracle, had continued to be accepted after try-outs every year, but had yet to play in an official game. He loved being on a team, and of course loved the sport as well, so he kept pushing through, despite the rigorous practices and overall time the competitions ate up. Deep down, Koushi hoped that he would get to play in an official match _sometime_ in his senior year. One of the coaches had even complimented him on his progress several months ago, something Koushi still thought about. Koushi told himself that he didn’t play volleyball for merit, but some praise every once in a while was always appreciated.

“Hey, hey Suga-kun!” Bokuto greeted. “How’s my 3rd favorite setter doing?”

“I don’t know, how’s my least favorite ace doing?”

“That was cold, Suga,” Bokuto said, clutching his chest in fake-hurt.

“You asked for it, though,” Akaashi said nonchalantly.

“Akkkkkkaaaaassshhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiii, you’re _supposed_ to be supportive as my #1 favorite setter!”

“Hey, what about me? What’s my status?” Kuroo demanded, never to be left out.

“Most fucking dramatic.” Koushi turned around to see Oikawa jog onto the court.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Koushi retorted.

“Annnnd #1 babe!” Bokuto exclaimed.

“Ew, don’t be all gross,” Koushi teased.

“C’mon, c’mon let’s practice!” Oikawa said.

“That’s what we’ve been doing while we were waiting for you, Oikawa-san,” Akaashi said, forever on-point with keeping Oikawa in check.

“Ok, ok! I want to work on my serves more,” Oikawa said, waving Akaashi off.

Bokuto-san, you need to work on your receives, so this will be good practice for you too,” Akaashi said.

“Akaaashiii, you’re always so straightforward!”

“That’s all part of his charn,” Koushi said brightly. “I should work on my serves too, but I’ll set for you, Oikawa.”

The boys soon fell into a steady rhythm. Koushi and Oikawa stretched for a bit before joining in.

The extra practice was just what Koushi needed to releive his nerves, and he was glad he came. Oikawa was kind of right. Telling a little white lie for a university study wasn’t the _worst_ possible thing. He just wouldn’t overthink it.

So he let himself get lost in volleyball, and even managed to receive a few of Bokuto’s incredibly powerful spikes. With Oikawa’s deadly accurate control, and Bokuto’s pure strength, they made a formidable combination.

As they did their post-practice stretches, Oikawa seemed to take this as an opportunity to casually as possible ask; “So, where’s that cafe you were telling me about the other day, Bokuto-kun?”

“Oh, the Fleecy Lamb? Yeah, it was so cool!”

“The… Fleecy Lamb?” Koushi snorted.

“Yeah, but it honestly has the best fucking pastries, you wouldn’t even believe!”

“It was alright,” Kuroo put in.

“Babe! I took you there for our 2 ¾ year anniversary, how could you even say that?” Bokuto exclaimed.

“Why are you both so Extra?” Oikawa said, exasperated. Koushi knew damn well that Oikawa had mailed Iwaizumi a Star Wars sheet set for their 17th ‘Friendiversary’, so had zero (0) room to talk. He was about to comment on this but Kuroo spoke up to admit;

“I guess the pastries were pretty delicious.”

“Speaking of food, would anyone like to get ice cream?” Akaashi asked.

They were all, of course, down for ice cream.

\-----

“The Fleecy Lamb, huh?” Koushi said as he and Oikawa headed back to their dorm building after ice cream. It was nearly 10:00, so not as many people were on campus. The street lights lit their way back. The air was muggy, which had made the ice cream taste even more amazing; cold food when it was miserable out really was the best.

“I trust Bokuto’s judgement,” Oikawa responded flippantly.

“Bokuto would eat anything, though.”

“Well, Kuroo said it was good too! I bet it’ll be absolutely precious, just like our budding love,” Oikawa said in a simpering voice Koushi knew he would probably have to suffer hearing countless more times for the next- _fuck-_ for the next year.

_Roll with it._

“Alright, my sweet cream puff,” Koushi said in an equally mushy tone, grabbing Oikawa’s hand for the hell of it.

“My frosted cinnamon roll,” Oikawa returned without missing a beat.

“My unsweetened coconut flake,” Koushi simpered.

“My crusty bran muffin.”

“My burnt blueberry pancake.”

“Please, I would be the most fluffy and delicious pancake, with the sweetest syrup and cherries and whipped cream,” Oikawa argued.

“But of course, my plump, sour little gumdrop.”

This earned Koushi a light smack on the shoulder along with some comment about a “chubby trout”, but Koushi just laughed.

Fake-dating Oikawa meant more opportunities to poke fun at him; really, what was the harm in that?

 


End file.
